Department for Transport

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Recruitment

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they are taking to recruit HGV drivers to meet (1) the current shortfall, and (2) the predicted demand given the increase in online retail and e-commerce.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We have taken decisive action to address the acute driver shortage, with 32 specific measures taken by the Government already. These include funding apprenticeships, skills bootcamps training for jobseekers, and support for drivers to return to the sector, expanding HGV driver testing capacity and improving licencing processes.We will continue to work with the road haulage industry and other stakeholders to evaluate the impact of these measures, identify further areas for action and monitor changes in demand.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Property: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 2 November (HL3659),whether they can provide a breakdown of the 60 titles within Greater London where the registered owner is the People's Republic of China; and if so, in which London borough each is located.

Lord Callanan: HM Land Registry is unable to provide this information. Further details about the information that HM Land Registry holds, what is publicly available, and how it can be obtained, is set out online via the GOV.UK website.

Department for Education

Children in Care: Refugees

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many child refugees are currently in looked after care in the UK.

Baroness Barran: The department does not collect data on all child refugees that are currently in care, but does collect data on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) who are looked after by local authorities in England. Of the 80,850 children looked after up to 31 March 2021, there were 4,070 UASC, down 20% from the previous year which was 5,060.Figures on the number of children looked after who were UASC were published recently in the annual statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.Figures on children who were UASC outside England is a matter for the devolved administrations.

Ministry of Justice

Prerogative of Mercy

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how manyRoyal Pardons have been issued to those convicted of terrorism in the last 30 years.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: Our records date back to 2014 and there were no Royal Pardons issued to those convicted of terrorism in that time.

Asylum: Appeals

Lord Brabazon of Tara: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what proportion of, asylum appeals were successful due to the absence of a Home Office legal representative at the appeals tribunal.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: Information on Home Office attendance at Immigration & Asylum Tribunal hearings is not collated centrally by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Any decision to allow an Asylum appeal is made by a Judge based on the merits of each case.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Nigeria: Humanitarian Situation

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the findings of the British High Commission's recent visit to Benue State in Nigeria; and what steps they are taking in response.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Officials from the British High Commission in Abuja regularly visit areas affected by intercommunal violence. Most recently, the Governance and Stability team visited Benue State between 22-24 November. During their visit, they spoke about the ongoing security situation with the state governor Samuel Ortom, local faith leaders, and Non Governmental Organisations active in peacebuilding and reconciliation. The High Commission is currently assessing bids to carry out a project on interfaith peacebuilding, alongside considering other potential opportunities to work in Benue State.We continue to make clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels, the importance of protecting civilians, including all ethnic and religious groups, and protecting human rights for all.

Developing Countries: Children

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic do not reduce children's global access to (1) health, (2) education, and (3) nutrition.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: As per my answer to HL3398, the UK is committed to mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on children's global access to essential health, nutrition and education services.We continue to achieve this through our ambitious global health agenda, set out in the Integrated Review, and the government's manifesto commitment to help end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children by 2030 as part of our efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage. We are the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and have pledged £1.65 billion from 2021 to 2025 to support the provision of vaccines to 300 million children, saving up to 8 million lives. The Nutrition for Growth summit in Tokyo in December will be a key moment for galvanising international support for access to nutrition for children and the UK will set out its future ambitions there.The Prime Minister launched the UK Girls' Education Action Plan setting out the UK's leadership and commitments on girls' education in the face of the challenges presented by COVID-19 to get 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls reading by the age of 10 by 2026. The UK and Kenya co-hosted the refinancing summit for the Global Partnership for Education in July in London, raising $4 billion on the day to help education systems build back better following COVID-19 and ensure girls return to school and learn.

Nigeria: Religious Freedom

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the US State Department's decision to remove Nigeria from its list of Violators of Religious Freedom.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The removal of Nigeria from the list of Violators of Religious Freedom is a matter for the Government of the United States of America.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Peace Negotiations

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to impose sanctions on those undermining the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Sanctions are an important potential element in the UK toolkit for the Western Balkans. A specific legal regime is in place that allows sanctions to be imposed on individuals to counter anti-Dayton activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Experience has shown that sanctions are most effective when used in conjunction with other partners, and we are in close touch with our allies. We keep all evidence and potential sanctions designations under close review. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions targets as to do so could reduce their impact. We will also continue to use the wider range of tools we have available, including support for the High Representative and his executive powers, our programming work to strengthen the rule of law, media environment, civil society and the democratic process, and our public and private diplomatic engagement. We take a comprehensive approach in BiH, aiming to tackle corruption and state capture as well as targeting those who undermine the integrity of the state.

Turkey: Kurds

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to send an observer to attend the trial in Turkey of 108 Kurdish politicians over the 2014 Kobani protests.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: British Embassy officials have been attending the Kobane trials and, whenever possible, will continue to do so, alongside other like-mind missions. We follow events in Turkey carefully, particularly government moves to close down the People's Democratic Party (HDP), the lifting of immunity for its MPs, and the replacement of opposition mayors by state-appointed officials. While these decisions are for the Turkish Government, we expect Turkey to undertake legal processes fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law.

Selahattin Demirtaş

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey to secure the immediate release of Selahattin Dermitas.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: With our international partners, we call on Turkey to meet its obligations as a founding member of the Council of Europe and release Selahattin Demirtaş from his extended pre-trial detention. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will supervise the implementation of the judgment in Demirtaş (No.2) v Turkey, a process in which the United Kingdom actively participates. Working with international partners, we will continue to encourage Turkey, including at Ministerial level, to act in line with the conventions of the Council of Europe and to make greater progress on wider human rights reforms. The Minister for Europe and Americas, Minister Morton, raised human rights, including the case of Selahattin Demirtaş, with the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister during her trip to Turkey on 28 June.

Africa: Development Aid

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their strategy for (1) development, and (2) the provision of official overseas aid, in Africa.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy sets out the Government's vision for the UK in the world, including in relation to African countries and our development and official overseas aid work in Africa. HMG's approach to Africa was set out in Lord Parkinson's response on behalf of the FCDO to the House of Lord's International Relations and Defence Committee report on Sub-Saharan Africa in the House of Lords on 8 September Development [Hansard vol. 841 column 230GC-238GC https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2021-09-08/debates/472E179A-7BAF-4972-A47E-D3E48B0B90D8/Sub-SaharanAfrica(ReportFromTheInternationalRelationsAndDefenceCommittee)?highlight=lord%20parkinson#contribution-6AEEBD7E-C265-4004-B14C-6403DB6CF932]Work in Africa will also be guided by HMG's International Development Strategy, which is due to be published in Spring 2022.

Department for Work and Pensions

Winter Fuel Payments: Cohabitation

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to prevent two separate Winter Fuel Allowances being offered to a cohabiting couple who own two properties.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Entitlement to a Winter Fuel Payment is based on the circumstances of the household which the claimant has reported as their permanent address. Claimants of benefits, pensions and Winter Fuel Payments have an obligation to report relevant changes to the Department, including changes of address and (where material to entitlement) changes to their household make-up.

Home Office

Asylum: Standards

Baroness Stroud: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers have spent at least six months awaiting a decision on their asylum claim in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office publishes information on asylum applications and resettlement in the Immigration statistics quarterly release. Data on the number of asylum applications that are currently awaiting an initial decision are published in table Asy_D03 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets (which is attached), which includes whether cases have been waiting less or more than 6 months.The number of people awaiting an initial decision is a subset of the total number of people in the asylum system (‘asylum work in progress’), which also includes those awaiting appeal outcomes and failed asylum seekers that are subject to removal from the UK. The total number of cases in the asylum system is published in the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection.table Asy_D03  (xlsx, 1113.5KB)

Passports

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals holding an expired British passport.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Data cannot be provided in accurate volumes. This is due to exceptions, including where a passport has not been automatically cancelled on renewal, and where a passport holder is deceased, and their passport record has not been updated.

Passports

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) 18–19 year olds, (2) 20–29 year olds, (3) 30–39 year olds, (4) 40–49 year olds, (5) 50–59 year olds, (6) 60–69 year olds, (7) 70–79 year olds, (8) 80–89 year olds, and (9) 90+ year olds, they estimate to hold an expired British passport.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Data cannot be provided in accurate volumes. This is due to exceptions, including where a passport has not been automatically cancelled on renewal, and where a passport holder is deceased, and their passport record has not been updated.

Asylum: Standards

Baroness Stroud: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of theeconomic impact of offering the right to work to asylum seekers who have spent six months awaiting a decision on their asylum claim.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Asylum seeker right to work is a complex issue, not least given the potential incentive it can provide to make dangerous journeys to the UK or to make ill-founded claims simply to be able to work whilst they are consideredA review of the policy is ongoing.

Offenders: Deportation

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government why there has been a decrease in thenumber of foreign national offenders deported from the UK since 2016; and what plans, if any, they have to reverse this trend.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government is clear foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and since January 2019 we have removed 8,441 foreign national offenders. We deal with significant and complex challenges when seeking to deport FNOs. These challenges can include travel documentation, late claims, late legal challenges and broader non-compliance with a lawful returns process.Despite having numerous opportunity to raise grounds at any stage of the immigration process asylum claims, appeals and judicial reviews are all commonly raised by people awaiting return, and generally lead to release from detention – despite the vast majority not ultimately receiving a positive outcome for the applicant when the claim is reviewed. The prevalence of this issue is increasing, and evidence on how the system is open to abuse, which can divert resources away from genuine victims of trafficking, persecution and serious harm, can be found in an article under the 'deportation, removals and curtailment' on gov.uk. There is supporting data in the report 'Issues raised by people facing return in immigration detention', which can also be found on gov.uk. And whilst removals have continued, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our ability to deport as many FNOs as in previous years, due to travel restrictions, fewer scheduled routes and significant disruption to other services which support the removal of foreign criminals (such as court closures). The New Plan for Immigration will make it easier and quicker to remove FNOs and those with no right to be in the UK. The Nationality and Borders Bill will extend the period an FNO can be removed from prison under the early removal scheme (ERS) from a maximum of 9 months to 12 months, providing the minimum requisite period has been served. The Bill will also streamline the appeals process by introducing an expanded one stop process aimed at reducing the extent to which people can frustrate removals through sequential or unmeritorious claims, appeals or legal action. A new power will also be implemented to impose visa penalties on countries who do not cooperate with the UK on the removal of their nationals who do not have a right to be in the UK. Further information can be found in the New Plan for Immigration statement and the factsheet - Nationality and Borders Bill, which can both be found on gov.uk.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Electoral Register: British National (Overseas)

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether BN(O) citizens who have arrived from Hong Kong are required to become British citizens before they can register to vote in a UK general election.

Lord Greenhalgh: British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)s) who have arrived from Hong Kong are not required to become British Citizens in order to register to vote in UK general elections.Although BN(O)s are not classed as British citizens, the British Nationality Act 1981 determines that they have the status of Commonwealth citizens. This means that Hong Kong BN(O)s, with leave to enter or remain in the UK, are entitled to register to vote as an elector in UK parliamentary elections, providing they fulfil the age and residence requirements for such registration and are not subject to any other legal incapacity.

Northern Ireland Office

IRA

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss with the government of the Republic of Ireland the reported remarks made by Senator Michael McDowell about the decision not to investigate crimes by the Provisional Irish Republican Army that occurred before April 1998.

Lord Caine: The UK Government engages regularly with the Irish Government, on a range of matters that require or benefit from the partnership between our two countries, including legacy matters. Legacy issues are due to be discussed during the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) on 2 December.The UK and Irish Governments have also been undertaking a period of engagement regarding legacy issues, as announced following the BIIGC in June. During this engagement, the recent public intervention by former Attorney General and Justice Minister in Ireland, Michael McDowell, who stated that a de facto moratorium on the investigation and prosecution of IRA members exists in Ireland, has been discussed.

Treasury

Banks: Forgery

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in (1) investigating, and (2) prosecuting, allegations of banks forging customers’ signatures.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government expects all companies to obey the law and relevant regulations. Anyone with evidence of such forgery taking place should report it to their bank in the first instance. If their concerns remain, or they do not have a direct relationship with the lender, they should report it to the relevant authorities. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own and is not able to intervene in individual cases. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires all authorised firms to have systems and controls in place to mitigate the risk that they be used to commit financial crime. Whilst the police have primary responsibility for investigating fraud the FCA also has powers to take a variety of enforcement action against firms that carry out fraudulent activity. The National Crime Agency (NCA) is continuing to assess the material submitted by the Bank Signature Forgery Campaign and information obtained following preliminary enquiries to clarify matters with certain members of the public who had raised the issue. The NCA is making a thorough assessment to determine whether there are grounds for a criminal or regulatory investigation.